Alabama’s closed primary bill died in the Senate on Thursday, the final day of the 2026 legislative session, after failing to receive a floor vote.

HB541, sponsored by State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R-Trinity), passed the House and cleared a Senate committee but ran out of time before the session adjourned. The bill would have gone into effect January 1, 2027, leaving the 2026 primary elections unaffected.

Under the bill, voters would have been required to declare a party affiliation to vote in that party’s primary or runoff. A 60-day blackout period before each election would have prevented voters from switching affiliations at the last minute.

Unaffiliated voters would not have been eligible to participate in either party’s primary.

Alabama has long operated under an open primary system, allowing voters to choose which party’s primary to participate in on election day. Under current law, voters who participate in a party’s primary may only participate in that party’s runoff.

Had it passed, Alabama would have been only the second state in recent history to move from an open to a closed primary system. West Virginia made the switch last year.

The bill drew support from the Alabama Republican Party, whose executive committee backed the change, and opposition from critics who argued it would disenfranchise independent voters and force taxpayers to fund elections closed to unaffiliated voters.

Thursday was the 30th and final day of the 2026 legislative session.

Sawyer Knowles is a capitol reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].